Author: Adrienne So / Source: WIRED
In high school, my cross-country coach once counseled me to open my clenched fists. Stay relaxed, he said. The energy that you use to clench your fists is energy that you need for running. To this day, every time a shirt rides up or a shoe comes untied, I shout, “Noooo!
I need this energy for running!”That’s why I, like many runners, loved the original Plantronics BackBeat FITs. They were 100 percent fuss-free. You didn’t have to untangle wires or remember where you put a case. They never fell out. They were simple, durable, and water-resistant, and all at a price that wasn’t completely outrageous.
It’s taken Plantronics a long time to update them. Indeed, they’re releasing it in a series of workout headphones, along with the nylon-corded Backbeat FIT 350, which is an update to the Backbeat FIT 305, and a new set of wirefree sport earbuds, the Backbeat FIT 3100s.
But after trying all three, I’m still convinced: Plantronics has kept all the things that made the original Backbeat FIT great, and the updates only make it better. These are my platonic ideal of running headphones.
Where the Rubber Meets the Road
The Backbeat Fit 2100 has a unique look. The earpieces are set on a short rubber cord that runs around the back of your head from one ear to the other. The earpieces come in one size and sit inside the hollow of your ear, rather than sealing in your ear canal.
I love Plantronics’ earpieces. I have oddly-shaped ears, and fitting sport earbuds is the bane of my existence.
I can’t count the number of times that I’ve burst out the door, gotten halfway down the block, and had one bud fall out.The earpieces also let in just the right amount of ambient noise, a feature that Plantronics calls “Air Aware”. This keeps me from being run over by approaching bikes, cars, dogs, or people when I’m running or hiking outside. I can also wear them while doing chores around the house, confident that I’ll be able to hear a dog bark or a kid fall off a table.
The original Backbeat FITs came in a series of utilitarian neon colors, but the Backbeat FIT 2100s have a subdued black band, with a metallic sheen on the earpieces that Plantronics informs me are meant to look like a pair of mirrored…
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